Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones or anything related. It belongs to George R.R. Martin, the creator of this wonderful universe and David Benioff and D. B. Weiss who created the show.
Face Claim for Queen Sanira: Caitlin Stasey.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Battle for Winterfell.
The Stark and Bolton armies sit across the battlefield from one another, a light snow covering the ground between them and there was a silence that Sanira didn't think she had ever heard before. Sanira and Sansa were seated upon their horses looking out across the battlefield from a hill nearby, neither of them dared say a word as they looked at the House Bolton force.
Across the battlefield, X-shaped pyres resembling the sigil of House Bolton are burning; attached to each of them is the body of a flayed man, strapped upside down. Ramsey rides through the ranks of the Bolton army on horseback, he smiled seeing the turn out; the Stark army greatly diminished after what had happened at the Twins.
Ramsey stared out at the diminished forces and he knew that the Lannisters would reward him handsomely for wiping out the remaining Stark forces; they would give him anything that he desired as a reward. The Bolton forces had rallied around Ramsey after the death of his father, despite the fact that Ramsey was a bastard but he was sure that he could be legitimised by the Lannisters for getting rid of the Starks for them.
Perhaps if his plans went well enough he could hold the Stark girl hostage, force her to become his bride and that way he would have secured the North in his father's name. The bulk of the Stark forces charge across the field towards the Boltons, their commander ordering them forward as Sanira watched praying for those poor souls.
It had not been an easy decision to make but Harry had assured her that it was the right choice; they could not reveal their true strength to the Bolton's until the last minute. The Bolton arches released a volley of arrows trying to take out as many of the soldiers that they could; Ramsey ordered the cavalry to charge once the arrows had been released and he watched the chaos that was unfolding.
The two forces clashed in the middle of the field, men on both sides die in the frenzy; bodies and weaponry flying everywhere, archers on both sides of the battlefield nock arrows and draw their bows. The Bolton archers fire, their arrows rain down on Stark and Bolton men alike and the fray continues with men dodging horses that gallop past them.
The bodies are beginning to pile up on the battlefield, archers loose several more volleys across the field as the frenzy continues; many Bolton men killed in the attack and the bodies start to pile up high enough to create small mountains of bodies. Men continue to fight atop and around them, there seems no end in sight as the heavens open and rain starts pouring down on them; a second wave of Stark forces entering the field to support those already there. Ramsey smiles watching the depleted forces launch their final attack, this would be easier than he had thought and he would soon be the victor.
"It's time, go," Ramsey state before brandishing his sword and walking back and forth in front of his men; he knew that if he wanted to be taken serious as a leader that it was on him to lead the charge.
"Who owns the North?" Ramsey shouted, he wouldn't give this up without a fight and he would show the North who they owed their allegiance to. The Starks were finished, they were dead in the ground and soon Ramsey would hold the key to the North; Sansa would be the perfect way to bring those wayward houses to heel and under his control.
His men cheered before they went charging across the battlefield to join the fight, there was no room for error and soon the Stark forces would be defeated. A force of Bolton men appear bearing tall shields and spears creating a half-circle around the entire Stark forces. The other half of the circle is blocked by the piles of bodies on the battlefield. The shield soldiers set their shields firmly in the dirt, then point their spears inward towards the Stark forces.
"Infantry, advance!" the ordered comes and the shield soldiers grunt in unison, lift their shields, and move in towards the Stark forces. With each wave of movement, they stab more and more Stark soldiers with their spears. One Stark soldier tries to climb up over the piles of bodies but gets cut down and his men charge down over the bodies, taking the Stark forces from the rear with no escape for any of them but death.
Sanira can only watch, her stomach churning and she felt sick knowing that she had condemned those men to death; her hold on the reins tightens as she swallows back bile and continues to watch the scene before her. The shield bearers advance, pushing the Stark forces further in on themselves and causing more Stark men die. In the fray, men are pushed to the bottom of several bodies and start getting crushed; they struggle to get out but can't get a hold of anything to pull themselves free.
More and more bodies are piling on top of those trapped beneath, they can catch glimpses of clashes and flailing limbs above but nothing else; they gasp for air as they drowned in the growing sea of bodies. Men are dying all around as they are trampled to death, grabbing onto clothes of standing men to hoist themselves up and some managing to emerge in the centre of the tightly packed group of men and fill their lungs.
Finally a horn begins to sound in the distance causing Ramsey to turn in the direction of the sound; a large force appearing across the battlefield carrying the flags bearing the white falcon sigil of House Arryn along with further Stark banners. His eyes widening in horror as he looks towards the small gathering that had been watching the battle before his eyes move back to the large force that threatened his own; his army suddenly outnumbered 10 to 1. The army take the Bolton shield bearers from the rear, then circles around and knocks them all down.
Sanira smiling as she watched the scene before her, the combined forces of the Golden Company and the Arryn army making quick work of the Bolton forces. Ramsey doesn't waste a moment in turning around to his horse and fleeing back to the castle, his tail between his legs as he left his men to die and knew that if he could keep hold of Winterfell then he could keep the North.
Sanira watched him flee, disgust filling her as he abandoned his men to die while he fled to the safety of Winterfell.
Ramsey and several Bolton soldiers enter the courtyard through Winterfell's main gate; some men close and bar the gate behind them and they dismount, dismay across his commander's face as Ramsey tried to conceal his dismay.
"Our army's gone," the Commander spat furious that it had all been for nothing, he had sided with Ramsey because he had hated the Starks; now it seemed like their was no escaping them. They would all be executed no doubt for treason, he didn't think the Starks would be so forgiving to those who had sided against them.
"We have Winterfell. They don't have the men for a siege. All we have to do is wait," Ramsey dismissed knowing that as long as they were in these walls then there was nothing that could be done. The Starks would die one way or another, there was no way that he would give up Winterfell; they'd have to kill him to take the place from him.
Something thuds against the gate and Ramsey turned to look at it, several Bolton archers nock arrows as several more thuds occur against the other side of the gate. A battering ram busts a hole in the gate, Bolton archers shooting arrows at the men that were in the process of knocking through the gate.
Ramsey moves farther away from the gate's interior, another ram hitting the gate and the wooden bar holding it crumbling as the forces broke through. The gate finally giving way after a few more rams of the gate before Stark soldiers broke through, Bolton archers continue shooting arrows at them to try and hold the keep but it was clear that it was pointless.
Stark archers aim their bows at Ramsey as Harry made his way into the keep, his head held high as he stared down at the man that was the cause of all of this. Ramsey gritted his teeth as he notches an arrow, preparing to strike down the commander only to find himself suddenly overpowered and a knife to his throat. Jon Connington nodding to Harry as Sansa and Sanira finally rode into Winterfell as the Bolton banners were removed and the Stark ones were returned to their rightful place.
"Winterfell is yours, Your Grace," Harry stated as the Bolton men were rounded up and he approached Sanira as she dismounted her horse, he bowed his head to Sanira as her eyes focused on Ramsey. A frown set upon her face as she stared up to meet his disgusting gaze, there was only one way to deal with Ramsey Snow and he would not make it to the end of the day if she had her say in it all.
Ramsey is tied to a chair inside the kennel gates, he was mangled and bleeding letting out a groan and coughing as he raised his head to look at Sanira who was outside of the gate; Sansa standing just behind her in the shadows.
"Is this where I'll be staying now? No. Our time together is about to come to an end. That's all right. You can't kill me," Ramsey said smiling, some of his teeth missing from the beating that he had received after he had been captured. He had put up quite the fight when they had been leading him down to the cells and Connington had punched him hard in the face causing him to lose some teeth.
"Your words will disappear. Your house will disappear. Your name will disappear. All memory of you will disappear," Sanira noted knowing that this was her final revenge on House Bolton for what they had done. There would be no coming back for them and she had gotten revenge for all those men that had died at the Twins because of Roose Bolton. The dogs growled in their cells and begin filtering out into the kennel, Sanira watching knowing that she'd also have gotten revenge for Lady Donella Hornwood; the poor wife of Ramsey that had suffered a terrible death.
"My hounds will never harm me," Ramsey taunted knowing that his hounds would not harm him, he sat up straighter feeling more confident than he had done since he had lost Winterfell. Sansa looked to Sanira, straightening up and wishing that she had her confidence in the face of such a monster.
"You haven't fed them in seven days, so we have heard," Sanira stated watching him, she wasn't frightened of men like Ramsey he was nothing in the grand scheme of things. Sanira knew that there was only so much that animals could take before they snapped, she had heard the terrible tale of how Donella had been found in that tower by Lord Manderley and her son. Daryn Hornwood wanted revenge for what had happened to his mother and Sanira didn't wish to deny him; poor Donella had deserved a better fate than what she had gotten.
"They're loyal beasts," Ramsey dismissed as he looked at his hounds, he knew them better than anyone; they would not harm him and he had trained them well and they would only answer to his commands.,
"They were. Now they're starving," Sanira noted looking at the dogs, they were slobbering and sniffing about as they searched for something to eat; from what she had heard about Ramsey's hunts they had a taste for human blood. The dogs growled and one of them approached Ramsey from the front and put its front paws up on his legs to get to his face. The dog sniffed at Ramsey's face, he shifted uncomfortable and leant back in his chair as much as he could to get away from the beast.
"I am Lord Bolton, you can not do this to me," Ramsey said trying to see Sanira's face, he would not be forgotten and he refused to allow this girl to think that he was frightened for his own life. He looked back at the beast as it looked away from him for a moment, he knew that House Bolton would live on through him no matter what happened.
"Olyvar is Lord Bolton. You're legitimate half-brother will be a fine Lord Bolton," Sanira told him proudly, the news had come only weeks ago that Lady Walda Bolton had birthed a son. The boy had been Lord Bolton since his birth after his father's death and Sanira knew that Walda would raise him to be loyal to House Stark. Ramsey felt his blood boil, he was the only heir that his father had and he didn't believe for a moment that his father's last wife had whelped a pup that might be the heir to House Bolton.
"Sit. Down! Down! Down! Down! Down!" Ramsey ordered as the dog got closer to his face, he wasn't done yet and he didn't like how close the dog was getting to him. The dog bit into his face causing Ramsey to scream and the other dogs to converge on him and begin to tear him apart. Sansa made her exit not wishing to see anymore, she kept her head down while Sanira lingered for a moment taking in the scene before her.
"Goodbye Lord Snow," Sanira stated after a moment, a smile forming on her face as she walked away knowing that House Bolton would never be the same again. Stepping out of the kennels into the cold air, Sanira stared up at the walls around her as it finally hit her that she was home. It had been four long years since she had last been in Winterfell, she couldn't believe that she was actually here right now and she hoped that Robb would be joining here soon enough.
Walking through the halls of her home, Sansa couldn't help but think of the little girl that she had been back then; so naïve to the world and she wished that she could go back and give herself a shake. Sansa had been so sure of her future when she had left Winterfell, she thought herself in love with Joffrey and she would be his Queen.
Now she wanted nothing more than to remain in the halls that she had called home, to be fully reunited with her family. Robb was stationed at Casterly Rock waiting on news that Winterfell had been secured before they marched on King's Landing. Rickon was with their mother, hiding out in the Riverlands until it was safe for them to return to Winterfell while Bran was being hidden by a loyal Northern house until he too could come home to them. It was only Arya that was missing, disappearing after their father had been arrested never to be seen again; Sansa prayed for her sister each day and hoped that she was safely hidden away like everyone else was.
After wandering about for what felt like forever, Sansa found herself standing outside her bedroom; her hand shook as she slowly reached for the door handle to open it. There was a small hint of hesitation for a moment before Sansa opened her bedroom, it was exactly how she had left it all those years ago.
Left behind in a hurry as she had packed up her things in a rush for a life that she had always dreamt of; her mother having taught her to be a good southern lady. It had failed her when she had been kept prisoned by the Lannisters, tortured by Joffrey and Sansa swore that she would never be weak again; she would rise above this, she would model herself after Sanira.
Her sister-in-law had shown her strength but compassion since she had followed her north; she was everything that Sansa was not and she refused to allow anyone to dictate what she should be. Slowly Sansa made her way further into her room, touching the items that she had left behind in a hurry to start her new life; she had been so happy about her engagement to Joffrey that she wished she could slap herself.
Sansa reached out for a dress that she had cast aside thinking that it wouldn't fit into her new life as a future Queen. A foolish girl, she had been and Sansa wished she could take it all back; she wished she had never pleaded with Cersei to make her father change his mind when he had tried to get her and Arya out of the capital.
There was so much that Sansa wished she could say to her father, she wished she could tell him how sorry she was for what she had done and that she loved him. That she loved the doll that he had gotten her, she wished that she could wrap her arms around him and have him tell her that it was all going to be okay.
Shaking her head and reaching up to wipe away the tears away that had fallen at the sound of soldiers nearby searching for any remaining Bolton soldiers that might be hiding away in the castle. Using her sleeve to wipe away the tears that had fallen, she looked around the room that she called her own and knew that she would do better; she would be a better person when all her family were home again.
The war was far from over, she knew that they still had to deal with the Lannisters and then everyone could truly come home; she would be free to be with her family again. Making her way out of the room, Sansa held her head high and knew that there was no better person for her to learn from in all of this than Sanira; she had to be strong like her right now.
The return of the Starks to Winterfell was something that could finally be celebrated, her dear father could be laid to rest at last after so long and she knew that it would bring her mother peace. Turning down the corridor, Sansa prepared herself to head to the great hall where she knew that Sanira was dealing with things when she heard a shuffling noise from behind her.
Sansa turned around confused only to see that no one was there and she took a hesitant step towards the sound as she tried to see who was there. Down the end of the corridor there was figure that stood there, just out of sight; their body hunched in the shadows and they looked like they were wearing rags. Stepping closer, Sansa finally got a better look at the person who was stood before her.
"Theon?" Sansa breathed as she finally realised who the disfigured person was, her eyes unable to believe that the person stood before her was really Theon Greyjoy after all these years.
Please Review, Favourite and Follow xx